Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep written in 1939, tells the story of private investigator Philip Marlowe and his dealings with the Sternwood sisters and investigations of several related murders. “The Parker Shotgun”, a 2008 short story by Sue Grafton, features private investigator Kinsey Millhone who on the surface appears to have little in common with Raymond Chandler’s famous detective. However, throughout “The Parker Shotgun” and The Big Sleep, there are many similarities in the ways both detectives act and go about their jobs. In terms of the detectives’ investigative systems, this paper it discusses their moral codes as well as “the detective code”. Both these characters are outsiders or loners. Kinsey and Marlowe both don’t have any family that are referenced in their stories. They work alone, don’t like dealing with the police, and tend to leave things out, especially when it comes to client confidentiality in some cases. Marlowe leaves out Carmen’s involvement and possibility of going to jail to spare General Sternwood the pain of this news, since he was on his death bed. Kinsey leaves out the information of where the Parker Shotgun ended up at the end of the story in an effort to bring justice to her client outside the criminal justice system. Both these characters are examples of Private Investigators with traits of the hard-boiled tradition. This paper’s comparison of them shows how Detective Crime Fiction has changed, switching from the male-centric, hard boiled style during the 30’s to an early 20th century tough female P.I. working in California solving crimes just as well as Chandler’s Marlowe did.
About the presenterKarlee Arendt
Senior at Carlow University double majoring in History and English. As a junior, she studied abroad in Belfast, Northern Ireland for the entire school year, attending Queens University. On campus, she is a member of the English Honors Society Chapter Sigma Tau Delta, as well as staff member on the Critical Point, Carlow’s art and literature journal. Karlee has previously presented at the English Honors Society Conference in 2018 in Cincinatti.